Water-level regulator.



PATENTED APR. 24, 1906.

A. E. DANKE.

WATER LEVEL REGULATOR.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 4,1905- WITNESSES:

ARTHUR E. DANKE, OF NEENAI-I, WISCONSIN.

WATER-LEVEL REGULATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 24, 1906.

. Application filed August 4, 1905. Serial No. 272,649.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR E. DANKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Neenah, in the county of Winnebago and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Water-Level Regulators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a device for hold ing the water in a steam-boiler at the desired level; and it consists of a tank which is to be arranged near the boiler in which the level of the water is to be regulated, the tank being connected with the boiler in both its water and steam spaces and also with a pump or other device for furnishing a supply of water to the boiler, the tank being provided with a float which is supported upon the water in the tank and by its rising and falling as the water in the boiler rises and falls closes and opens an opening in the steam-space of the tank through which the pump is supplied with steam, and thereby shuts off or supplies steam thereto in accordance with the waterlevel in the boiler and tank, the mechanism being shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a vertical section of the tank and its cover, showing in elevation inside of the tank its float and the mechanism for operating the opening and closing of the opening that governs the supply of steam for the pump and outside of the tank showing one end of a steam-boiler and between the tank and boiler a steam-pump with the necessary pipes for supplying steam and water to the various places required. The boiler and pump for want of room are represented very much smaller in proportion to the size of the tank than their working sizes would require. Fig. 2 is a plan of the inside of the tank, its cover and the pipe passing through it being removed. Fig. 3 is a detail showing some mechanism of the inside of the tank turned one-quarter round from its position in Fig. 1.

Similar numerals indicate like parts in the several views.

1 indicates a steam-tight receptacle or tank having a cover 2 removably secured to it with bolts 3. The tank may be of a size suited to the requirements of the boiler or set of boilers with which it .is to be used. Inside of the tank a float 4 of any suitable size is placed, the float here shown being an air tight hollow one of sheet metal, but may be -formed of any suitable material and be of any form required. A stem 5, consisting of a round rod which is screwed into the flange 6, I

that is bolted to the top oi the float, extends upward from the float and is screwed into a cap-piece 7. The purpose of mounting the stem upon the float in this manner is that the stem can be easily removed and a longer or shorter one inserted for adapting the ver tical position of the float to different levels of the water which it may be desired to maintain in the boiler to which the device may be applied.

The piece 7 is pivotally connected with the inside wall of the tank by means of links 8 and 9, formed in two sections for convenience in adjusting the piece 7 centrally of the tank, the section 8 being hinged upon the pivot-pin 10 to the piece 7 and the link 9 to a bracket 11 upon the pivot-pin 12, the bracket being secured to the tank with bolts 13. The link 8 is provided with slots 14 for its adjustment upon the link 9 and is secured to said link with bolts 8 The link 9 is provided with an arm 9* for engaging the wall of the tank and preventing the falling of the float below a determined point whenever the water in the tank is removed for any purpose.

Extending upward from the piece 7 are two rods 15, which are rigidly attached to said piece and are pivotally connected with the gimbal-ring 16 at their upper ends. Two setscrews 17 pass through the ring and are pivotally connected with the pipe 18, thus forming a universal joint, said pipe being closed with a cap 19 at its lower end and its upper end being provided with dishing form 20, the pipe being shown in section in Fig. 1 and showing said form. From within the bore of said pipe a smaller pipe 21 extends upward, it being closed at its lower end, litted for an easy but close fit within said bore,

and having the boss 22 fitted for the dishing upper end of the pipe 18, the upper end of the boss being turned down to about the diameter of the pipe 21 and said end threaded for receiving the elbow 23 and between said elbow and boss the nut 24, the latter clamping the cover 2 between it and the upper end or the boss and forming thereby a steamtight joint.

Near the lower end of the boss the pipe is provided with the perforation 25 ,which should extend through the pipe, said perforation being covered by the dishing end 20 of the pipe 18 whenever the latter pipe is raised by the float to a suflicient height. The pipe 18 being suspended by the gimbal-ring 16, it

is permitted a free movement vertically upon the pipe 21, the slight deviation from the vertical of the piece 7 which is produced by the links 8 and 9 being obviated 1n the pipe 18 by its suspension from the gimbal-ring.

From the elbow 23 a pipe 26 extends to a steam-pump 27, said pipe having a valve 28 and the pump being connected with the boiler 29 by a pipe 30 and being adapted to deliver water from a suitable supply to said boiler. The water-level of the boiler is indicated by the numeral 31, and said level is maintained in the tank by reason of its connecting-pipe 32, the steam-space 33 of the boiler being connected with the upper end of the tank by means of the pipe 3 1.

The operation of the device is as follows: l/Vater and steam being supplied to the boiler and also to the tank through its connectingpipes, the float being in the position shown, steam from the steam-space within the tank will enter the pipe 21 through the opening 25 and passing along through the pipe 26 operate the pump 27 and deliver a supply of water to the boiler through the pipe 30. Should the pump be delivering water faster than its conversion into steam in the boiler, the water rising, the float will rise also, and if to a sufficient height will partially close the opening 25, diminish the supply of steam for operating the pump, and cause it to run slower, and consequently deliver less water to the boiler. If so little is delivered as to hold the float and pipe 18 entirely below the opening 25, the pump will be allowed to again run at full speed but if the float raises the pipe 18 so as to partially cover said opening to the proper degree the pump will be supplied with just enough steam for running just fast enough to hold the water in the boiler and tank and also the float at a substantially uniform level.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

1. In a water-level regulator for holding the water in a steam-boiler at a substantially uniform level, the combination with a boiler and a feed-pump, of a tank for holding steam in its upper, and water in its lower part, it being located with reference to the boiler so that their water-levels may correspond, pipes connecting the steam and water spaces of the boiler'with those of the tank, a float arranged within the tank, a stem extending upward from said float, links connecting said stem with the wall of the tank for guiding its upward and downward movements, a pipe suspended from a universal joint above said stem having a dishing upper end and a closed lower end, a smaller pipe rigidly fixed to and depending from the center of said tank-cover, a boss of downward-decreasing diameter upon said pipe, below said cover, fitted to said dishing end of the first-named pipe, an opening through said smaller pipe near the lower end of said boss, said pipe having a closed lower end and being of a length downward from said boss nearly equal to the length of said first-named pipe and being fitted to enter its bore and have the larger pipe moved vertically upon the smaller, for closing and opening the opening therein, and a pipe connecting the upper end of said perforated pipe with a pump which is arranged for delivering water from a suitable supply to the boiler, substantially as described.

2. A water-level regulator, consisting of a tank adapted to be connected at its upper end with the steam-space of a boiler, and its lower end with the water-space thereof, a float arranged to be floated by the water in said tank, a stem extending upward from said float, links connecting said stem with the wall of said tank for guiding its upward and downward movements, a pipe suspended from a universal oint above said stem, a dishing upper end to said pipe and a closed lower one, a smaller pipe rigidly fixed to and depending from the center of said tank-cover, a boss of a downward-decreasing diameter upon said pipe, below said cover, fitted to said dishing end of the first-named pipe, a perforation through said smaller pipe near the lower end of said boss, said pipe having a closed lower end and being of a length downward from said boss nearly equal to the length of the first-named pipe, and being fitted to enter its bore and to have the pipe moved vertically upon the smaller one for closing and opening the perforation therein, and a pipe connecting the upper end of said perforated pipe with a ump which is adapted for delivering water from a suitable supply to a boiler, substan tially as set forth.

ARTHUR E. DANKE. Witnesses:

JOHN DANKE, S. D. BAIRD. 

